Leaping Lemur
Leaping lemurs (Indridae, sometimes incorrectly spelled Indridae) are a family of strepsirrhine primates. They are medium- to large-sized lemurs, with only four teeth in the toothcomb instead of the usual six. Most Indriids, like many lemurs, live exclusively on the island of Madagascar, except one species, the mainland lemur (Metadapis africanus), which is found in African rainforests. All known living Indriidae species vary considerably in size. The tail of the indri is only a stub, while avahi and the sifaka tails are as long as their bodies. Their fur is long and mostly from whitish over reddish up to grey. Their faces, however, are almost always bald. The hind legs are longer than their fore limbs, their hands are long and thin, and their thumbs cannot be opposed to the other fingers correctly. Many species are arboreal, though they do come to the ground occasionally. When on the ground, they stand upright and move with short hops forward, with their arms held high. In the trees, though, they can make extraordinary leaps and are extremely agile, able to change direction from tree to tree. Like most leaf eaters, they adjust for the low nutrient content of their food by long rests. Often, they can be seen lying stretched on trees sunning themselves. Indriidae live together in family federations up to 15 animals, communicating with roars and facial expressions. Most species of Indriidae are herbivores, eating mostly leaves, fruits, and flowers. Like some other herbivores, they have a large cecum, containing bacteria that ferment cellulose, allowing for more efficient digestion of plant matter. They have fewer premolar teeth than other lemurs, with the dental formula of: 2.1.2.3-2.1.2.3. Females and males usually mate monogamously for many years. Mostly at the end of the dry season, their four- to five-month gestation ends with the birth of a single offspring, which lives in the family for a while after its weaning (at the age of five to six months). Many species of leaping lemurs are sadly endangered or almost endangered due to habitat loss and some are threatened by introduced dogs, cats, nonnative species of mongooses, and/or nonnative species of civets, but not all species of leaping lemurs are endangered or even close to being endangered. In fact around 25% of leaping lemur species are threatened, while 75% of other species remain relatively common and adapted to deal with human activities, including being able to adapt to life in the cities and suburbs of Madagascar. List of species of leaping lemurs Threatened leaping lemur species (examples) Indri.JPG|Indri indri (Indri). Eastern Woolly Lemur.jpg|Avahi laniger (Eastern woolly lemur). Coquerel's Sifaka.jpg|Propithecus coquereli (Coquerel's sifaka). Peripithedorcas.jpg|Peripithedorcas longipes (genkibok). Titia.jpg|Titia acrobates (surya). Common or thriving leaping lemur species Amphimnus.jpg|Amphimnus sp.: 1. A. cardiothorax (rat-tailed indri); 2. A. rufus (blonde-rumped lemur). Anubia.jpg|Anubia sp.: 3. A. anubis (anubis shamash); 4. A. diadema (diadem shamash). Avahi.jpg|Avahi sp.: 5. A. occidentalis (pink-tailed lemur); 6. A. ailuroides (velvet-tailed lemur). Babakota.jpg|Babakota sp.: 7. B. pteria (tabaret); 8. B. serica (silky tabaret). Diupropithecus.jpg|Diupropithecus sp.: 9. D. pigritia (eastern monkey-armed lemur); 10. D. thompsoni (western monkey-armed lemur); 11. D. vanalliae (dark monkey-armed lemur). Endrina.jpg|Endrina sp.: 12. E. andersoni (Anderson’s endrina); 13. E. fulvus (golden-fronted endrina); 14. E. scitua (red-bellied endrina); 15. E. melanotus (black-backed endrina). Geopropithecus.jpg|Geopropithecus meles (khaki). Indri.jpg|(Other) Indri sp.: 17. I. lagurus (cotton-tailed babakoot); 18. I. cynocephaloides (russet-mantled babakoot); 19. I. aridus (desert babakoot); 20. I. ursinus (ursine babakoot). Lestonyx.jpg|Lestonyx manchatus (juju). Maki ferini.jpg|Maki ferini (yellow-eyed lemur). Marmosettus.jpg|Marmosettus gracilis (kamarupa). Metadapis.jpg|Metadapis africanus (Mainland lemur). Paranobracchium.jpg|Paranobracchium limnobates (sharira). Procebus.jpg|Procebus prehensacaudis (prehensile-tailed lemur). Propithecus.jpg|(Most other) Propithecus sp.: 28. P. trichotis (tufted sifaka); 29. P. basilicus (royal sifaka); 30. P. blackwoodi (banded sifaka); 31. P. vandeckeni (Vandecken’s sifaka); 32. P. coronatus (crowned sifaka); 33. P. aureus (golden sifaka). Propliocebus.jpg|Propliocebus sp.: 34. P. excelsus (golden lemursaur); 35. P. giraffa (giraffe lemursaur). Sivadapis.jpg|Sivadapis sp.: 36. S. reticulatus (blotchy lemursaur); 37. S. altogradis (brown lemursaur). Uroindris.jpg|Uroindris sp.: 39. U. perrieri (pied lemur); 40. U. longicaudatus (elongate-armed lemur). Xeradapis.jpg|Xeradapis fasciatus (burrowing sifaka). Category:Species Category:Animals Category:Non-Sapient Species Category:Real Life Species Category:Mammals Category:Mammalian Species Category:Lemurs Category:Herbivorous Species Category:Metazoica Species